Stressed out techies take shelter in spas

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Indian software developer Akshaya Kumar Jain meditates at the Art of Living Foundation, an international non-profit and charitable organisation, in Bangalore, Photo: AFP

Indian software engineer Mehul Patel, working with mobile phone
maker Kyocera, arrived back in Bangalore after hectic business
trips to the United States and Europe in a "state of daze".

So, like thousands of other stressed-out code writers and
call-centre workers in India's southern technological hub, he took
up meditation.

"Different time zones and food habits take a toll on your body
and mind. Stress at the workplace worsens it," says 31-year-old
Patel, who now makes it a daily habit to meditate for
half-an-hour.

"The effect is immediate. Half an hour of meditation is
equivalent to three to four hours of sleep," says Patel, whose firm
has a dedicated yoga room.

For those who prefer a more active form of stress-busting,
there's an ever-mushrooming choice of yoga centres, specialised
spas, gyms, jacuzzis, spas and swimming pools.

Big Indian outsourcing companies like Infosys Technologies and
Wipro have long recognised the problem of stress and have built
in-house recreational centres where employees can unwind after long
and demanding hours of constant pressure.

Now private companies too are jumping in to help those buckling
under stress to create a "balance between work and life".

The Art of Living Foundation, an international non-profit and
charitable organisation with a presence in 142 countries, says more
than 400 code writers enrol every month to learn meditation.

The organisation's volunteers impart training based on India's
ancient art of yoga which combines meditation, breathing and
physical exercises during the 1000-rupee ($A30) week-long courses
at 20 centers spread across Bangalore.

"On average we spend about nine to 10 hours at work daily and
face different pressures," says Anandh Venkatraman, a senior
software employee with technology consulting firm Sapient.

"There are times when I thought I would not pull through. The
business itself is aggressive and deadlines are hard. There is
pressure both from junior and senior employees. Meditation helps me
to maintain my calm," he said.

Bangalore is home to more than 1500 global and domestic firms
riding the outsourcing boom.

More than 300,000 software professionals are employed in the
city, many of them having to work at night due to a 12-hour time
difference with the United States, which accounts for 68 per cent
of its total software exports of $US17.2 billion ($A22.67
billion).

Most of the outsourcing firms have late hour shifts which
employees say adds to stress.

Other code writers say peer and family pressures are also major
factors.

"The moment you see your colleagues going abroad stress starts
working on you," says Tithi Pathik, a consultant with Indian
software major Infosys.

"For me, being a woman, I have to take care of the family and
compete with my male colleagues equally, if not better. That to
many is a situation which is stressed," the 28-year-old says.

Software employees are not alone in aiding the growth of
relaxation centres.

Top-notch technology chief executive officers and venture
capitalists are also opening their wallets to beat stress and keep
themselves at their competitive best.

In downtown Bangalore, Bhanu Moorthy, chief of Prithvi Natural
Healing and Yoga, charges upwards of 1250 rupees for an hour of his
"holistic therapy".

Moorthy says he combines acupressure, acupuncture, the aroma of
flower, herbs and roots, counselling, hydrotherapy which uses the
turbulence of water to tone the body, mud and traditional herbal
therapy and yoga to cure stress.

"On an average there are four to five people walking in daily
for a therapy which lasts for between three and four weeks," he
said.

"About 45 per cent of my clients are from the information
technology business. It includes top officials and juniors," he
adds.

An expert in India's herbal treatment of ayurveda, Moorthy says
stress is a direct fallout of poor lifestyle.

"Massages, aromatherapy and yoga are the best treatments when it
comes to beating stress. In some people it will not manifest and
the people who bottle it up are the worst sufferers," he said.

K. Sunil of Limelite, a unisex salon and spa located within a
kilometre (mile) of Prithvi, recommends "oxygen facial therapy" for
stress.

"Each sitting costs 2500 rupees and the whole treatment takes
three weeks. Some techies do come for the therapy," he says.

A year ago, beauty consultant Jeena Mitra, wife of Shivaji
Mitra, a software consultant with US software giant Oracle, opened
Fussion spa specialising in aroma therapy.

"An aromatic bath consisting of roses and other herbal products
can be the best stress-buster. We have about 300 clients and a
quarter of them are software engineers," Jeena Mitra says. "An
aromatic massage can also help."

In Bangalore, more than 50 gyms also have opened up offering
aerobics, Western and Latin American dance classes and physical
fitness.

Najib Aga, a member of India's judo team for the 1996 Olympics,
launched his Energy gym nine months ago.

"The result was startling. I have 500 registered members of whom
300 are from the software industry. They do not want to build
muscles but work out for an hour or so to overcome stress," Aga
says.

Ali Khwaja, chief of Helping Hand, a body which has been
offering free psychological counselling services for the last 22
years, said there has been a sharp rise in the number of technology
employees on the rolls.

"It is definitely related to lifestyle. To that if you add the
changing face of personal relationships and work pressure then it
assumes an entirely different dimension," Khwaja said.

"The number of programmers coming for counselling has shot up
four times compared to a year ago. They (techies and call centre
employees) realise that it is a very mediocre job involving no
creativity. They also know it is not a secure job. But they are so
enamoured with where they have reached," he says.

Khwaja says the concept of a "fun atmosphere" being encouraged
by technology firms in their facilities to fight attrition induced
"flirtation" which ended up breaking relationships.

"Cases of physical abuse are on the rise among these employees,
who are among the most educated. It surprises me. Very few take
cognisance of stress. It is cumulative and leaves a residue every
time," he said.

"On the face of it they look to be globetrotters with a high
degree of financial independence but they are very prone to stress
which breaks them," Khwaja said.

"They go through a lot of anxiety, depression and loneliness
because of their work environment and often have lower self-esteem
and dissatisfaction. This reflects itself in the form of social,
marital and sexual problems," she says.